


f*ck em only we know

by electraheathens



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Ben is sad, F/M, Fluff, i didn’t know how to end this sorry, tried to write fluff at parts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 11:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13457184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electraheathens/pseuds/electraheathens
Summary: The Resistance captures Ben, and Rey must save him from the fate of execution.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title from: fuck em only we know-banks  
> “i’d run away, i’d run away with you.  
> would you run with me?  
> our life could be a little bumpy, but i’ll hold on  
> just wanna tell you that I see you, baby, do you see me  
> cause this is special, baby  
> fuck em only we know”

Loud cheers and yells of excitement brought Rey away from her work reading the Jedi texts. She had been flipping through the old books for hours, trying to study the Force. She needed to improve if the Jedi were going to live on after Luke. But a little break couldn’t hurt, she figured. She wondered what had happened that made everyone so happy.  
She followed the sound to the hangar, and was shocked at what she saw.  
_Ben Solo, in handcuffs, standing solemnly in front of a crowd cheering for his punishment._  
She pushed to the front of the crowd.  
“Oh, Rey!” Poe said, beckoning her to the front. “You can escort him to the cells for now, right?”  
“What happened? Why is he here?” Rey demanded.  
“We launched a surprise attack on a First Order base, and he happened to be there. He let us take him peacefully, which was weird, but a relief. I thought he’d want to go down in a fight.”  
Rey just nodded, speechless.  
“He has some injuries, by the way, so you should probably bring a medical kit down with you,” Poe informed her.  
“Okay. I’ll, uh, take him now,” she said. Poe nodded, and Ben started to follow Rey out of the hangar. The crowd created a pathway, obviously terrified, yet intrigued, by the man who had been brought to their base.  
They briskly walked through the hallways down to the cells in silence. It was only once they were in the cell, she actually decided to say something.  
“Why did you let them take you, Ben?”  
“It was my only way of escaping,” he said. “They found out. That I was the one who killed Snoke.”  
“Is that why you look so beat up?” she asked, pulling the neck of his shirt down to reveal a large gash.  
“It was Hux,” Ben said in disgust. “Thank God the Rebellion invaded when they did. I was severely outnumbered.”  
“You know what they want to do to you, right?” Rey asked, abruptly changing the subject.  
“It’s pretty obvious. They want me dead, and I don’t blame them.”  
“I don’t want you to die.” Rey intertwined her fingers with his. “I can’t lose you now. Not after what we’ve been through.”  
“It must be excruciatingly painful, loving a monster like me,” Ben remarked.  
Frowning, Rey took a wet towel and started to clean his injury. “You aren’t a monster.”  
“You’ve said I was a few times, you know.”  
“But that was before I got to know you.”  
“Still.”  
“You haven’t balanced yourself yet,” Rey said. She could sense the darkness that still lingered in the depths of his soul. “Let in some more light.”  
She eyed the look on Ben’s face. He didn’t have didn’t have malice anymore. No intent to kill. Just sadness, shining in those deep brown eyes. “No, you’re not a monster. However much you think you are—or want to be one—you aren’t.”  
She placed a strip of bandage over the wound that crossed his collarbone.  
“I don’t think they think of me like that,” Ben said, looking up. Even from the cell, you could hear the victory cries. They were probably preparing a party.  
“They think I’m a monster. They want my neck in a noose, Rey. You can come talk to me everyday. You can clean my wounds, but if I don’t get out of here I’m all but dead. Will you be able to deal with that?”  
Rey swallowed, a lump forming in her throat. “Then I’ll try to make that not happen. We’ll have a vote in a few days, I assume. I will fight for you as best as I possibly can. It’s what your mother would’ve wanted, I know it.”  
Ben flinched slightly at the mention of his mother. His felt tears prick at his eyes.  
“I never got to say goodbye to her,” he whispered. “She was the last person I had left. Except for you, Rey. Now _you’re_ the only one I have left and I’m going to die soon enough, so what does it matter? I’ll see my mother soon, I guess.”  
“Ben, don’t talk like that!” Rey scolded. A pit of anxiety settled in her stomach. “I can get you out of this.”  
“You’re talking like you have a choice in this decision.”  
She started to clean his next wound, this one on his torso. Her eyes drifted back up towards the scar on his face. The one she had given him. She gently traced it with her finger.  
“I never apologized for this,” she said softly.  
“I deserve it,” he replied flatly.  
She didn’t push the topic further, and just applied antibiotic cream to the slash.  
“Manipulation, Stockholm Syndrome, insanity,” Ben said. He leaned against the cell wall tiredly.  
“What are you talking about?” Rey asked, slightly annoyed.  
“That’s what they’ll say about you. It’s what people assume when you love a monster.”  
Rey glanced up, unnerved by Ben’s intent stare. “Why should you care about what they say? They’re wrong. And you sound like you agree with them on the being a monster thing. Even though you aren’t.”  
He just sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. Rey went back to dressing his wound. The silence was comfortable. Just being in each other’s presence felt good. Although the odds really weren’t in their favors.  
When Rey looked back up, Ben was gazing at her again.  
“Let’s run away together,” he said.  
Rey laughed nervously, although her stomach clenched in panic. She couldn’t do that.  
“So are you just going to let me die?”  
“I told you! I’m not going to let you die!”  
“You’re being an idiot!”  
“Do you really have such little faith in me?” Rey asked, exasperated. “There’s no way we could run. They’d find us. There would be a huge reward, I bet. Everyone would be out for us. I can convince them not to kill you.”  
“Okay, sure. Let’s say they don’t decide to kill me,” Ben said, crossing his legs. Leaning towards her, he said, “Instead, they leave me in this cell forever. Or they let me rot somewhere else. Which would be torturous. Oh, another thing. They could torture me. Force _you_ to torture me.”  
“That’s not what the Resistance does!”  
“Yes, but it’s what a group of revenge seeking people does. I’ve killed many people from here. Their families too. They want me dead, and they want it to be slow and painful.”  
“I’m not-“  
“Yes, yes, you’re not going to let it happen.” Ben said, smiling bitterly. “What exactly are you going to do? Keep me in your little bunk? How lovely.”  
She didn’t know. All she knew is she needed Ben to stop being the Supreme Leader. To stop hurting people. To stop hurting her, even though he didn’t mean to.  
“We’ll figure something out!” Rey hissed. “Just shut up and let me take care of your injuries.”  
“You don’t know what you’re going to do.”  
“You’re just angry that your side has lost” Rey said.  
“When did this become about winning?” Ben questioned. “I thought this was about how you love me and how I am facing certain death.”  
“I know you’re scared...but-” Rey started.  
“Who said I’m scared?” Ben huffed. “You’re the one who should be scared. If they find out your affection towards me, they’ll lock you up too for being delusional.”  
“Liar,” Rey muttered.  
Then, footsteps and talking could be heard from the hallway. It was Finn, Poe, and Rose.  
Ben swallowed, his act dropping. “Please, if you love me, let me leave. I’ll do anything, I beg you.”  
Rey started to gather the medical supplies, putting them back in their bag.  
“Yes,” she said.  
Ben’s eyes widened. “You’ll let me go?”  
“Yes, it’s excruciatingly painful loving you,” she whispered, her voice breaking at the end. She started to head for the door, but stopped. She turned around and placed her hand on Ben’s cheek, pressing their lips together for just a second. And with that, she was gone, leaving Ben alone to drown in his tears and terrifying thoughts of execution. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rey talks to ben before the vote for his fate.

“Rey?” Rose called, her voice muffled by the door. “Come in!” Rey said, shoving her notes in her desk. She had been planning an argument to free Ben the whole week.  
Rose came in, and settled on the edge of Rey’s bed.  
“So, Kylo’s trial of sorts will be tomorrow. He won’t be there, though. Everybody says it’s too dangerous. Are you going to tell him the results?”  
Rey nodded.  
“You and him have a connection, don’t you?”  
Rey was startled by the question.  
“Why do you ask?”  
“I don’t really know,” Rose said honestly. “I just feel this connection between you two. You don’t want him to be killed, do you?”  
Rey shook her head. “I don’t think I could stand it if he died,” she admitted.  
“I’ll try my best to back up your argument tomorrow,” she promised. “Sleep well.”  
“Thanks, Rose,” Rey said, smiling at the other girl. “Sweet dreams.”  
Instead of sleeping, Rey snuck out of her room, peering through the empty hallways. She wanted to see Ben before the trial the next day. Thankfully, no one seemed to be out at this hour. Everyone was in their rooms, relaxing after a long day of work. Although the Resistance had Kylo Ren in their clutches, Hux was still a prominent enemy.  
She slipped down to the cells as quietly as possible. Ben was in the first cell, so she unlocked the cell and closed the door behind her. There was handprint ID on both sides, so she could easily get out. She knew Ben could easily get out too, using the Force.  
He lay on the cot, but wasn’t sleeping. He sat up and looked at Rey.  
“Why don’t you?” Rey asked, crossing the cell to sit next to him.  
Ben looked at her quizzically.  
“Why don’t you escape. You could any time you want, you know.”  
“I’m not leaving without you,” he said. “I could run to the ends of the galaxy, Rey, but nowhere would feel like home without you.”  
“You know I can’t leave,” Rey said sadly.  
“I know. It seems like we’re not meant to be together, the world is against us.”  
“Fuck the world,” Rey cursed. She turned towards Ben, placing her hands on his shoulders. “I want to be with you. But the Resistance needs me. I’m going on a mission in a few days to pick up children who have the Force from Canto Bright. We need new Jedi in the next generation.”  
“Let me come with you,” he pleaded. “Tell them that you need someone else to help you locate the children.”  
“I wish you could come,” she sighed. “I can bring it up at the trial tomorrow.”  
“Ah. So it is tomorrow.”  
Ben slipped his hand into hers. “I’m scared,” he admitted. Turning to her with tears in his eyes, he choked out, “I’m _terrified_. I’m not ready to die. I don’t want to live the rest of my life in a prison.”  
“I will get you out of this, I swear,” Rey promised. She desperately wanted to believe she could. But there were hordes of people seeking to avenge their dead loved ones. And their idea of doing that was to kill Ben.  
She figured she should get some sleep before the trial the next day.  
“Goodnight, Ben,” she said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “Sleep well.”  
They both knew very well that neither of them would sleep well that night. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ben’s punishment is decided.

Rey sat in her chair at the long Senate table. She was jittery, her hands clasping and unclasping under the table. Not everyone had arrived yet. Her heart was racing. She had to try her very best to get Ben out of this. Little voices in the back of her mind told her she’d fail. That none of this was worth it. He would die, or rot in prison for the rest of his life. She quickly pushed those thoughts away, trying to think optimistically. She tried to even her breathing, reaching out into the Force to find some calm. She felt Ben, though. His fear, his despair. It just made her feel worse.   
Poe, the new general, sat at the head of the table. Rey wished Leia had been there. She had faith in her son for so long. She wouldn’t have let him be killed.   
“Today, we are here to discuss what will happen to Kylo Ren,” Poe started. “We shall come up with some suggestions, and vote at the end.”  
“I say we kill the bastard,” a pilot said, slamming his fist on the table. Rey identified the man as Jesse. She remembered his wife had been killed in a First Order attack. The murmurs of agreement that rippled throughout the room made her nervous.  
“How about we exile him? Throw him on some planet he can never escape from.”   
“Not a bad idea,” Poe said. “I don’t really want to go with the execution route...Leia wouldn’t have approved.”  
“Well Leia isn’t alive anymore,” a woman said bitterly. “So I think we should kill her monster of a son. Even she gave up on him in the end.”   
Rey resisted the urge to prove her wrong. She couldn’t use her argument. Not yet.  
“How about we give him a second chance?” Rose asked timidly. “My mother always told me that people can change.”  
There were a few quiet agreements.   
“There’s no way he can go back now!” a man protested. “Let’s just let him rot in a cell.”   
“Actually, I think he can go back,” Rey said, her voice slicing through the silence like a knife. Everyone turned to stare at her.  
“Kylo isn’t fully gone. You want to know why? Because he killed his master. He killed Supreme Leader Snoke, and he saved my life.”   
Gasps echoed across the room.   
“There’s no way…”   
“Is she serious?”  
“It can’t be!”  
“Did he do something to her.”  
“He did _nothing_ to me, except save me. If it wasn’t for him, Snoke would still reign, and I would be dead. And I can feel the light resonating within him. When I reach out into the Force. He isn’t truly gone.”  
“I call bullshit,” someone scoffed.  
“You call this bullshit?” Rey asked, levitating his mug off the table and dropping it back down. “He still has light in him. I’m reaching out right now, and I feel a hint of darkness. It is because you’re scared of him. Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. You are fearful and angry because of him. But that is the dark side calling you because it feeds on that.”   
“Rey is right,” Finn spoke up. “The dark can tempt anyone. If we kill him, we’re just as bad as the First Order.”   
There were nods of agreement.   
“Well then. We’ll take our vote,” Poe remarked.   
Rey found it strange that they were voting for Ben’s fate by placing pieces of paper in boxes.  
It was painful to watch them slowly count the papers after everyone was done. They made sure they counted everything correctly, and then Poe made his announcement.   
“The final decision is…”  
Rey held her breath, praying to anything out there that he’d be okay.   
“Kylo Ren will be released from prison, and be given a second chance.”  
Rey sighed in relief, resisting the urge to jump in joy.   
“This meeting is over. Everyone is dismissed.”   
Rey was the first out the door. She sprinted down to the cells, and flung open the door to Ben’s.  
His head snapped up.   
“What did they decide?”  
“To let you go! You get a second chance, Ben! I told you I could do it.”  
He stood up, and pulled her into a tight embrace.   
“I’m so glad. We can finally live our lives together.”   
She stood on the tips of her toes to gently kiss him.   
“I love you,” he said.  
“I know,” she replied. 


End file.
